 Ottman in August 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Fred Ottman (1956-08-10)August 10, 1956 (age 69) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Miami Senior High School (Miami, Florida)[4] |
Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Dusty Rhodes (brother-in-law) Cody Rhodes (nephew) Dustin Rhodes (nephew) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big Bubba[1] Big Steel Man[1] The Dominator The Shockmaster[1] Sigfried Super Shockmaster Hercules Haggerty Uncle Fred Stormy Poltrick Strain Terminator Tugboat[2] Tugboat Thomas Tugboat Tyler Tidal Wave Typhoon[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 384 lb (174 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Norfolk, Virginia[3] |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko[1] |
| Debut | 1984[1] |
| Retired | 2009 |
Fred Alex Ottman (born August 10, 1956) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He worked for theWorld Wrestling Federation (later WWE) from 1989 to 1993 under thering namesTugboat andTyphoon. As the former, he played a keybabyface ally ofHulk Hogan. As the latter, he turnedheel to formThe Natural Disasters withEarthquake and held theWWF Tag Team Championship.[2][5][1]
In 1993, Ottman debuted asThe Shockmaster inWorld Championship Wrestling and immediately fell over, losing his mask on live television while his teammates broke character and laughed. Thisbotch hurt his career, and is now generally regarded as the worst debut in wrestling history, but he was able to capitalize on its notoriety after his in-ring retirement.
On April 19, 2025, Ottman, as Typhoon, was inducted into theWWE Hall of FameClass of 2025 alongsideEarthquake asThe Natural Disasters.[6][7]
Ottman was trained byBoris Malenko and got his start as Sigfried the Giant in February 1985, forChampionship Wrestling from Georgia. He later wrestled forTexas All-Star Wrestling and theContinental Wrestling Association as Big Bubba.[8] He wrestled as Big Bubba in 1986 and 1987 in Memphis forJerry Jarrett's CWA wrestling where he teamed withGoliath as the Downtown Connection and was initially managed byDowntown Bruno.
In September 1988, Ottman wrestled on theGordon Solie-hosted TV shows ofChampionship Wrestling from Florida as a heel called Big Steel Man, managed byDiamond Dallas Page. He feuded withDusty Rhodes, among others. He defeated Rhodes for theNWA Florida Heavyweight Championship on May 13, 1989.
Ottman made his first appearance in the WWF in June 1989 in a dark match under thering name "Big Steel Man" withSlick as his manager. He wrestled three more dark matches that summer, defeatingPaul Roma andBoris Zukhov, and losing toMr. Perfect.
That September, his name was changed to "Tugboat Tyler", then "Tugboat Thomas", as he portrayed afan favorite onhouse shows, defeating the likes ofBarry Horowitz,The Brooklyn Brawler andBoris Zhukov.[9] He debuted on WWF television on the January 27, 1990 episode ofSuperstars under the Tugboat Thomas moniker and defeatedIron Mike Sharpe. His ring name was soon after shortened to "Tugboat". His costume consisted of a red striped shirt, white pants, and a sailor's hat. Part of his gimmick included miming pulling the cord of an airhorn and making a "Toot-toot" noise, like a horn of a ship. On the May 20 episode ofWrestling Challenge,Hulk Hogan made a promo explaining that he personally trained Tugboat and brought him to the WWF. Following Tugboat's win on that very same show Hogan came out into the ring and raised his arm, showing his full support. Tugboat railed for fans to send encouraging letters to Hogan after Hogan was brutally attacked by Earthquake. Tugboat aided Hulk Hogan in his feud withEarthquake and "Canada's Strongest Man"Dino Bravo. This coincided with a substantial push that saw Tugboat emerging victorious on television against numerous opponents. He made his pay-per-view debut at that November'sSurvivor Series, where he teamed with Hogan,The Big Boss Man andHacksaw Jim Duggan to face the team of Earthquake, Dino Bravo,Haku andThe Barbarian. Tugboat was eliminated when he and Earthquake fought to a double count-out, and Hogan went on to be the sole survivor.[10] Tugboat was the first true test ofThe Undertaker, who defeated him in numerous matches between December 1990 and March 1991.[11][12] Tugboat received a shot atMr. Perfect'sIntercontinental Championship on the May 5, 1991 episode ofWrestling Challenge, but was unsuccessful.[12]
In May 1991, Ottman teased aheelturn by eliminating Hulk Hogan in abattle royal onNBC'sSaturday Night's Main Event XXIX. Ottman completed the turn on the June 15 episode ofWWF Superstars. Tugboat andThe Bushwhackers were facingThe Nasty Boys and Earthquake in a six-man tag team match when Tugboat attacked his teammates, allowing Earthquake to hit the Earthquake Splash onBushwhacker Luke and pin him. On the June 17 episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, Earthquake's manager,Jimmy Hart, reintroduced Ottman as Typhoon, and he and Earthquake became known asThe Natural Disasters.[12] As part of the character change, Ottman began wearing a red, white and black singlet with a tidal wave on the front and "Typhoon" in black letters under it (to match the design on Earthquake's wrestling gear, seismograph lines and "Earthquake" in red letters across the middle).[13]
The Natural Disasters dumped Hart and turned into fan favorites in early 1992 - with Ottman's heel run having lasted less than seven months - feuding with Hart's new top team,Money Inc. ("Million Dollar Man"Ted DiBiase andIrwin R. Schyster). On April 17 they won theSWS Tag Team Championship defeatingGeorge Takano andShunji Takano inYokohama, Japan when WWF had a partnership withSuper World of Sports. In July the Natural Disasters defeated Money Inc. to win theWWF Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Money Inc. three months later.[14] After Earthquake took a leave of absence from the WWF early in 1993, Ottman wrestled in singles matches before leaving the company in early summer. He worked house shows againstTerry Taylor in the spring. He also put over a returningBam Bam Bigelow in a series of house shows, and twice on televisedRaw shows. He wrestled two televised matches againstYokozuna, losing one by pinfall and winning the other by disqualification. His final match saw him defeatThe Predator in a house show match inTampa on July 18.[15]
After departing from the WWF, Ottman found himself at the center of one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history as The Shockmaster. He had signed withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was to make his debut in a match alongside the fan favorite team ofSting,Dustin Rhodes andDavey Boy Smith in the upcoming eight-manWarGames match against the heel team composed ofSid Vicious,Big Van Vader,Kane andKole atFall Brawl.
On "A Flair for the Gold", aninterview segment hosted byRic Flair, in front of a live audience atClash of the Champions XXIV, Sting and Smith were confronted by Sid andHarlem Heat, demanding to know the identity of their new partner. Sting exclaimed, "All I have to say is, our partner is going to shock the world, because he is none other than the Shockmaster!" The camera then zoomed in on a section of the set where two torches set off a small pyrotechnics explosion in front of asheetrock wall. With a new costume consisting of aStar WarsStormtrooper helmet painted purple and covered in silver glitter, a pair of jeans and a large, black, puffy vest, Ottman attempted to make a dramatic entrance by crashing through the wall.
While making his entrance, Ottman tripped over a piece of lumber that was framing the set, causing him to fall forward through the wall with his helmet falling off and sliding across the floor. His face accidentally exposed, he scrambled to put the helmet back on as Vicious, restraining laughter, exclaimed "Oh, God!", while Flair could also be heard saying "Oh no" under his breath. Ottman donned the helmet and got back on his feet, shifting his weight and dusting his hands off in an attempt to shrug off the gaffe while Harlem Heat's Kole asked, "Who is this motherfucker?" and Smith exclaimed "He fell flat on his arse! He fell flat on his fucking arse!". Both of these comments were audible to the live audience and television viewers, but werebleeped in future showings of the footage by WWE. Ottman then began gesturing toward his would-be opponents several seconds before a menacing gravelly off-screen voice (provided byOle Anderson, who could be heard laughing before speaking) started to threaten Sid and Vader. Sid Vicious, remaining in character, reacted in rage to Shockmaster, and the broadcast focused on Vicious for the duration of the voiceover. The announcers said nothing as the segment ended.
Dusty Rhodes later claimed, on an episode ofWWE 24/7'sLegends of Wrestling show, the piece of lumber previously wasn't there during a successful practice run and it was later put there byDavid Crockett without informing Ottman. WWE, on its official website, wrote, "There is a case to be made that The Shockmaster's debut at WCWClash of the Champions XXIV is the greatest of all time – albeit for all the wrong reasons."[16] The organization has also described the incident as "one of the most unintentionally funny moments in sports entertainment history,"[17] and "a debacle many still consider one of the worst gaffes in the history of sports-entertainment."[18] While Ottman was initially displeased with the turn of events, he now finds humor in the incident.[17]
They put me in a Storm Trooper mask which they painted and covered in glitter, I couldn't see a thing. I got to the wall and put my hands up like a double axe handle and bust through. The top broke perfectly, but the bottom didn't give. The momentum took me through the wall and to the floor.
Despite generating no crowd reaction, WCW tried to continue with theangle, repackaging The Shockmaster character as aklutz in a series of pre-recorded promos (featuring Ottman in different attire, without a mask and using his own voice). It was this version of the character that went on to appear as planned in the main event of Fall Brawl, teaming with Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Davey Boy Smith in the War Games match. His ring attire for his match was a plain white shirt, jeans and a white construction worker's helmet, very different to the character in its infamous debut. He entered last into the match and actually gained the victory for his team by forcing Kole to submit to a bear hug.
This version of the character remained reasonably popular with live crowds and continued to appear at the final three pay-per-view events of the year. AtHalloween Havoc he teamed up withIce Train andCharlie Norris in a six-man tag match against Harlem Heat (Kole and Kane) andThe Equalizer. The Shockmaster again scored the victory for his team by pinning Kole. Next atBattlebowl he took part in the Lethal Lottery tournament and was drawn to team withPaul Orndorff to face the team of bitter rivalsRicky Steamboat andLord Steven Regal. Steamboat and Regal imploded and Shockmaster was able to pick up the win for his team after Steamboat hit Regal. In the Battlebowl Final battle royal Shockmaster was eliminated around the halfway point by the Nasty Boys. In the final pay-per-view of the yearStarrcade he facedAwesome Kong (accompanied byKing Kong). After both attacked the Shockmaster at the start of the match, bizarrely King Kong actually wrestled instead of his partner and the Shockmaster picked up a quick victory over him. He changed his name to "The Super Shockmaster" and departed in January 1994. He was also known as "Uncle Fred". However, he did make a brief appearance on the March 12, 1994 episode ofWCW Saturday Night, when Mean Gene Okerlund visited the set of Hulk Hogan's TV seriesThunder in Paradise.
In 2009,Shawn Michaels,Triple H, and Dusty Rhodes appeared on a segment ofWWE Raw to discuss the DVD release ofThe Rise and Fall of WCW when Triple H brought up the subject of the Shockmaster's debut. During that segment, the WWE recreated the Shockmaster's stumbling through the wall, withSantino Marella portraying the character andArn Anderson providing the voice. Anderson fled from the camera when the other wrestlers pointed at him.
On February 22, 2016, Ottman returned as The Shockmaster for an episode of theWWE Network show,TheEdge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness. On the show, The Shockmaster was given the opportunity to redeem the famous debut incident by walking through the show's banner.[19]
Ottman returned to the WWF as Typhoon in May 1994, taking the place of his former partner Earthquake in house show matches againstYokozuna after Earthquake left the WWF. Typhoon made his return to television on the June 25 episode ofSuperstars (taped May 25), defeatingQuebecer Pierre. He then primarily lost matches to Yokozuna on television and at house shows before departing in August.[20]
After leaving the WWF in August 1994, Ottman, still using the Typhoon name, began wrestling on the independent circuit in theEast Coast. In December 1995, he went to Japan to compete in a one-night tag team tournament, held byWAR. He teamed up withShinja and advanced to the semi-finals, before losing toGenichiro Tenryu andUltimo Dragon. In March 1996, he wrestled a tour ofMalaysia for theNational Wrestling Alliance feuding withKing Kong Bundy.
By the late 1990s, he was wrestling primarily in Florida, where he competed forFOW and WXO. In WXO, he was given the name The Dominator and hisgimmick was that he was too big to get out of his own car. He lost toNWA World Heavyweight ChampionDan Severn on November 7, 1997, in Gainesville, Florida. On May 27, 2000, as Typhoon he defeatedOne Man Gang andRon Harris in a 3-way match for the Wrestling In Ashwaubenon independent show in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.
In 2000, he briefly appeared in theiGW promotion as a manager named Sugar Daddy.
Ottman was one of the participants in the 20-man Gimmick Battle Royal match atWrestleMania X-Seven as Tugboat, and was eliminated by his former partner, Earthquake.[21] He retired soon thereafter.
On March 12, 2025, during an interview withBill Apter, Apter revealed that Ottman, along with his best friend and longtime tag team partnerJohn Tenta, under theirThe Natural Disasters gimmick, will be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Ottman added that he heard the news about it fromBruce Prichard via phone call. WWE later officially confirmed the induction on March 24.[22][23]
On September 5, 2009, Ottman returned to the ring as Tugboat losing to Martin Nolte at DWA 10 years event inUelzen, Germany. He returned to North America on November 21 as Tugboat defeating Jason Static at ECPW in New York City. He once again retired.
In 1992, he appeared as Typhoon (along with Earthquake) in theSNES version of the video gameWWF Super WrestleMania. The Disasters were absent from theSega version. On February 23, 2016, he appeared asdownloadable content forWWE 2K16. He appears along with Earthquake inWWE 2K17 andWWE 2K18 as well. In 2K18, the Shockmaster helmet (slightly modified as to avoid any copyright disputes with the Star Wars license) and the Typhoon singlet are available in the game's attire creation suite, and can be worn by any character in the game.
On a two-part episode of the 1994 TV seriesThunder in Paradise, Ottman played a palace guard named Yussef. He is also parodied in the 2014 RPGLISA as Shocklord.
On a two-part episode of the 1998 TV seriesMortal Kombat: Conquest, Ottman played Z'dak, in the second episode his name was featured solely in the credits though.
Ottman retired from wrestling after WXO folded in 2001. In 2007 he lived inLakeland, Florida and worked as a safety manager for Gaffin Industrial Services, a building cleaning service. He also coached thelittle league team of his two sons, Berkley and Beau, and daughter, Bailey.[24] Berkley currently serves as the timekeeper for the WWE. He is the brother-in-law of pro wrestlerDusty Rhodes.[25] He is one of the two uncles ofCody Rhodes andDustin Rhodes, the other beingJerry Sags.[26]
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